Edwards, McKnight, Peterman Among Jets’ Cuts

The Jets have released wide receiver Braylon Edwards, trimming their roster to the mandatory 75 players.

Edwards was dealing with a leg injury that kept him out of the team’s preseason game

Braylon Edwards (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

against the Giants on Saturday night. Edwards was signed just before training camp began, marking his third tenure with the Jets.

He had been given rest days throughout camp as a precaution, but the Jets appear to have moved on. The team signed Mohamed Massaquoi last week to add depth to the receiving corps.

The 30-year-old Edwards played his first four seasons in Cleveland, and was acquired by the Jets in 2009. He signed with San Francisco as a free agent in 2011, and was claimed late last season off waivers by the Jets from Seattle.

Meanwhile, a tumultuous summer for Joe McKnight just got worse. McKnight, a backup running back and the team’s primary kick returner the last two seasons, was among the New York Jets’ first 14 cuts Monday.

The team’s fourth-round draft pick in 2010 was involved in a series of incidents this summer that included an arrest for unpaid traffic warrants, a concussion, migraine headaches, a few questionable posts on Twitter and some tension with the media.

Stephen Peterman on the Detroit Lions during the 2012 season (Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Veteran guard Stephen Peterman, who was signed in the offseason and appeared in line to start at left guard until recently, was also released.

Peterman was signed in April after spending the last seven seasons with Detroit. The improved play of Vladimir Ducasse and rookie Brian Winters at left guard made him expendable. Peterman was also working a bit at center to potentially back up Nick Mangold.

McKnight was active for the first time this preseason on Saturday night after being sidelined by a concussion, but did not play. In an interview with The Associated Press last week, McKnight said he didn’t feel comfortable about his roster status.

“I have to get on the field this week, these next two games, and then prove something,” he said last Tuesday. “I’ve got to make sure these next few practices and these last two preseason games are real good. I’ve just got to get out there on the field and make some plays. I just need to do this.”

Joe McKnight (Elsa/Getty Images)

He never made it onto the playing field against the Giants, even on kickoffs, which seemed curious at the time. McKnight has two career kickoff returns for touchdowns, including a team-record 107-yard return in 2011 that stands as the longest play in Jets history.

In May, McKnight angrily responded to speculation that his time with the Jets could soon be up, saying: “They’ll have to kill me to take my spot.”

McKnight didn’t pass his conditioning test the day before the team reported for training camp to SUNY Cortland last month, but did so the next day. He was arrested in New Jersey on a day off from camp last month for outstanding traffic warrants, and later released on bail.

McKnight then injured his head during practice — he confirmed it was a concussion although the Jets never officially called it a concussion — and was cleared to return a few days later, wearing a red no-contact jersey. He refused to answer questions that day about the concussion or arrest, repeatedly saying, “I’m not getting into that right now.”

Two weeks ago, McKnight was carted to the locker room, wearing an oxygen mask, after banging his head on the ground during a play. He had taken a knee three times on his way to the field earlier that day while dealing with a migraine headache. Later that morning, he angrily responded on Twitter to someone he thought was a reporter who wrote that he should get released.

The final straw for the Jets might have come last week when McKnight, refusing to speak to the media, gave a reporter one of the team-issued media “bridges” cards that was given to players with suggested talking points for interviews.

“I’m over it all, but for what’s going on, I know who my enemies are and who’s with me,” he told the AP last week. “I’ve just got to address those people accordingly.”

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